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Coal Mine Cleanup Works: a Look at the Potential Employment Needs for Mine Reclamation in the West

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Coal Mine Cleanup Works: a Look at the Potential Employment Needs for Mine Reclamation in the West coal mine cleanup works: A Look at the Potential Employment Needs for Mine Reclamation in the West 220 South 27th St, Ste B Billings, MT 59101 www.worc.org 406/252-9672 about worc WORC is a regional network of grassroots community organizations that include 18,620 members and 41 local chapters. WORC’s network includes: Dakota Resource Council (North Dakota); Dakota Rural Action (South Dakota); Idaho Organization of Resource Councils; Northern Plains Resource Council (Montana); Powder River Basin Resource Council (Wyoming); Western Colorado Alliance for Community Action; and Western Native Voice. WORC’s mission is to advance the vision of a democratic, sustainable, and just society through community action. about this report The western coal industry’s twilight years are upon us. Reclaiming the many thousands of acres mined for coal is required by law and presents a significant opportunity to extend employment for miners, with substantial economic benefits for coalfield communities. This report builds upon our previous publications on this topic by analyzing the workforce required to complete reclamation at surface coal mines on Colorado, Montana, Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Arizona, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming lands. acknowledgements We are grateful to Jim Kuipers who provided the technical analysis for this report and whose contributions made this report possible. This report was prepared by Kate French. Invaluable research and editing support was provided by Dan Cohn. Many thanks to the editors for their contributions to the final draft: Angel Amaya, Shannon Anderson, Sara Kendall, Roger Carver, Tina Carver, Alex Cunha, Michele Irwin, and Briana Bergeron. Responsibility for all mistakes rests solely with the author. Design by Angel Amaya, Marvel Karch, and Spake Media. All views and opinions expressed in this report are those of WORC and do not necessarily reflect the views of WORC’s funders. 2 table of contents Introduction 4 Methodology 7 Findings 8 • Reclamation jobs provide years of employment at the end of mine life 8 • Mine reclamation can and should be done by the local workforce 12 • Reclamation timing affects who does reclamation work 13 Recommendations 14 Case Studies • Eagle Butte Mine, Wyoming 16 • North Antelope Rochelle Mine, Wyoming 18 • Rosebud Mine, Montana 19 • Absaloka Mine, Montana 21 • Freedom Mine, North Dakota 23 • Colowyo Mine, Colorado 25 • Navajo Mine, New Mexico 27 • Kayenta Mine, Arizona 29 References 32 3 introduction As the coal industry’s decline continues, workers and communities face an uncertain future. One bright spot is that reclamation requires a sizable workforce that can mitigate the impact of layoffs associated with mine closure. The Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) estimates that the workforce needed to complete surface mine reclamation is between 6,081 and 12,161 job-years on Colorado, Montana, Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Arizona, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming lands. Much of this work could be completed within a relatively quick timeframe1, both during mining and after closure. Thus, each year of reclamation will require thousands of workers2. This is an enormous opportunity to mitigate the negative impacts of the coal industry’s downturn, but decision makers need to act decisively to ensure this work is fully funded by coal companies, and that the jobs are made available to local workers. Image 1: Projected Coal Mine Reclamation Job-Years by State in the West *Note: Since reclamation is typically done in 2 to 3 years, these jobs would be spread out over that timeframe. These calculations reflect the middle (15%) of a range of high, medium, and low projections for post-1977 mines reclamation job creation. Western coal communities have a lot to grapple with as the coal industry declines. Communities suffer from mass lay-offs and local budgets shrink significantly from reduced tax revenues. Many coal communities have mine-mouth facilities where the local mine supplies all the coal for the local power plant, and the shut-down of one facility typically guarantees the imminent closure of the other. And, when mining and plant jobs end, there are often scarce alternatives available in isolated, rural coal towns so the sudden nature of mine layoffs can devastate workers, families, and communities for many years. In 2019, surface mines in this intermountain west area employed 8,540 workers3. 4 There is no one simple answer to these myriad impacts but reclamation provides one of the few, immediately available job opportunities for local workers and should be seen as one part of a proactive response to changing conditions in coal country. Reclamation work will not replace mining employment for all of these workers, but it can mitigate layoffs and provide a bridge to future employment, retirement or retraining for some. WORC’s recent report “Planning for Coal’s Decline” outlined the scope of the reclamation yet to be completed in the West and recommended solutions to ensure these lands are fully restored. This report found that, after decades of coal mining in this Western region, 234 square miles or nearly 150,000 acres of coal pits and mine facilities still require reclamation. This area is equivalent to 37% of all land mined for coal in these states since 1977. Although state and federal laws require reclamation of this mined land, reclamation work may be delayed or abandoned during the industry bust4. Job-Years is a term to denote the total number of people working full-time for an entire year to complete the job at hand. Essentially, one job-year is equivalent to one person working full-time for a year (or two people working half-time for a year, etc.) on a project, typically 2,000 hours in a year. But many big construction projects take longer than a year to complete, so to get a more straight-forward idea of how many people (or full-time equivalents) will be employed, it’s helpful to know the duration of the project7. Dividing job-years by the number of years the project is projected to take provides a snapshot of how many full--time equivalent employees will be needed, on average, for each year of the project8. This report builds on the findings and recommendations in our earlier report, “Planning for Coal’s Decline.” In addition to estimating the overall job creation potential in the region (Colorado, Montana, Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Arizona, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming), this report includes six case studies to illustrate the risks facing communities and the benefits that reclamation jobs could provide. These case studies include the Colowyo Mine (Colorado), Rosebud Mine (Montana), Absaloka Mine (Montana), Kayenta Mine (Navajo Nation), Navajo Mine (New Mexico), Freedom Mine (North Dakota), Eagle Butte Mine (Wyoming), and North Antelope Rochelle Mine (Wyoming). Communities will benefit most if mining companies complete reclamation work with local workers, but this isn’t guaranteed. Decision makers need to act decisively to ensure this occurs. This report’s recommendations add to those outlined in “Planning for Coal’s Decline” emphasizing measures that would increase the potential of local hire and economic benefits for communities. 5 findings 1. RECLAMATION JOBS PROVIDE YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT FOR COAL MINERS AT THE END OF MINE LIFE. Completing reclamation work at surface coal mines on Colorado, Montana, Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe, Arizona, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming lands will require between approximately 6,000 and 12,000 job-years. The most labor-intensive mine reclamation work can be completed in two to three years. In 2019, surface mine employment in this Western region was 8,540. Thus, as the coal mines slow or stop production altogether, reclamation jobs can be a bridge of employment for numerous workers facing sudden lay-offs. 2. MINE CLEANUP CAN AND SHOULD BE DONE BY THE LOCAL WORKFORCE. Many current mine employees have the skills and experience to do reclamation work. Reclamation work often utilizes the same heavy equipment as mining activities, and many miners today switch between production and reclamation tasks. 3. DELAYED RECLAMATION MEANS FEWER JOBS FOR LCOAL WORKERS. The timing of reclamation activities has significant implications for the local community. Delayed reclamation -- especially after a mine’s closure -- will reduce the number of local workers hired to complete the work. There are no laws or incentives in place to help the most impacted workers obtain the thousands of jobs that will be required to complete reclamation at mines across the country. 4. RECLAMATION JOB CREATION IS DEPENDENT ON AVAILABILITY OF CLEAN UP FUNDING. Reclamation job creation is dependent on the availability and adequacy of cleanup funding. Although by law, mine operators are financially responsible for reclamation, there are ways for these operators to delay or even abandon their obligations. In this era of coal’s decline, it is likely that many will walk away without funding the full cost of cleanup, leaving state and federal regulatory agencies responsible for completing reclamation. If no action is taken, these agencies will be forced to either find funding elsewhere (potentially from taxpayers) or leave mined lands unreclaimed. 6 methodology to calculate reclamation jobs WORC estimated employment figures for full mine cleanup using a simple engineering cost calculation regularly performed by mining engineers to project labor costs for heavy construction activities, such as coal mine reclamation5. Our primary assumption is that the labor cost as a percentage of total direct costs of surface coal mine operations is in the range of 10-20%6. WORC collected the amounts of reclamation bonds held by Colorado, Montana, Navajo Nation / Arizona, New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming for active coal strip mines and prevailing wages for reclamation-type work, and then applied a range of payroll cost assumptions. Our methodological approach and calculations are described in much greater detail in Appendix A of this report.
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